The Good Samaritan

“‘The one who showed him mercy,’ replied the expert in the law. Then Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” — Luke 10:37

One day an expert in God’s law came to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to have eternal life?”

“What does God’s law say?” Jesus asked him.

The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. And love your neighbour as yourself.”

“That’s right,” said Jesus. “Do this, and you will live.”

But the man wanted to make himself look good. So he asked, “And who is my neighbour?”

Jesus answered with a story.

“A man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. It was a lonely, rocky road. On the way, robbers attacked him. They took his clothes, beat him up, and left him lying by the road, half dead.

“A priest happened to be going down the same road. When he saw the man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and walked straight past.

“Then a Levite, someone who helped in the temple, came along. He went over and looked at the man. And then he crossed over to the other side of the road and walked past too.

“Then a Samaritan came along.”

Do you remember the Samaritans? Jews and Samaritans hated each other. The people listening to Jesus would never have expected the Samaritan to be the hero of the story.

“When the Samaritan saw the man, his heart was filled with pity,” said Jesus. “He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them to clean them and help them heal. Then he put the man on his own animal, took him to an inn, and looked after him.

“The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and if it costs more than this, I’ll pay you back when I come this way again.’”

Then Jesus asked the expert in the law, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who was attacked by robbers?”

The expert couldn’t even bring himself to say “the Samaritan”. He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”

“Go and do the same,” said Jesus.

The expert wanted to know who he had to love, and who he didn’t have to love. But Jesus turned the question around. The question isn’t “Who is my neighbour?” The question is “Who can I be a neighbour to?” And the answer is: anyone who needs help, even someone who is different from us, even someone we’ve been taught not to like.

Read it in your Bible: Luke 10:25–37

Dear God, please help me to love you with all my heart, and to love my neighbour as myself. Help me to notice people who need help, and to show them mercy, like the Good Samaritan. Amen.